Been a little while since I was a kid back home but I remember a friend's dad always coldpacked meat and stored it in mason jars like veggies in the basement. Was too young to know or care how it was done, but remember everything was good... He did mostly deer and groundhog but coon and squirrel were done also... Wondering if anyone has done it with hogs.... Houses aren't as big here as you folks are used to so applainces are also smaller and freezer space is like gold. Have a big/cool cellar tho. Anyone have any tips and/or good recipes?

Thanks.

Don't do red meat myself, but I know several people that do= mostly domestic meats. Canned some of my halibut from 3 years ago. Still pretty good to this day. Use it in any recipe that lists cooked fish (salmon croquettes, tuna noodle bake, etc)

I was very young when my grandmother still used a pressure cooker. They had a freezer when I was very young at that time but she told me she used to can everything they could for years.
http://www.gopresto.com/recipes/canning/meat.php

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
this here
meat has to be pressure canned and cannot be
be water-bath canned like you would jelly or
salsa or the like. very critical to avoid
food poisoning.

Thanks! That was short lived.... Don't have a pressure cooker and haven't seen one since I've been over here.... Food poisoning ain't a fun thing...

There's a really cool thread on this over at tradgang down in the recipe section. I'm very interested in this and think I might try it this year.

My grandparents used to can meat, but I haven't heard of anyone doing it in years. There are simpler options today.

I have been looking into canning, and a pressure cooker/canner is a must. Usually if you can, you have the big, dip ot for canning jellies and fruit, and a pressure canner for meats.

Very common in West Virginia where I am from, especially families that depend on venison. It varies by year, but a person can typically kill between 7-13 deer a year.That would be a lot of freezer space. I have had some very good stews made from canned venison.

here ya go...

I tell ya though, most of these look really cheapo...not like the stuff your grandmother used. When I am talking about something with the word pressure in it...I'm going heavy duty...

http://www.amazon.com/Pressure-Cookers-Cookware-Baking-Kitchen/b?ie=UTF8&node=289825

Exactly!!! Potatoes, carrots, onions, and a quart of deer.......... Didn't get any better...And folks these days would say we were poor...........maybe I'll start looking on ebay for a pressure cooker....

CAREFUL!!! You just may end up on DHS most wanted list

what's DHS?

department of homeland security.

Thanks.... I don't get out much..

Here is another method
http://www.deeranddeerhunting.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=290

Still common in Pennsylvania. My neighbor is from up there and he still cans one doe every year.

I actually never canned meat. What we did when I was a kid was to put dried sausage in jars and then fill with lard. it would keep the sausage from drying out any more. Take it out of the jar and wipe off the lard and it was go to go.

My grandparents did this with bacon also in their smokehouse. They had large crocks that they put a layer of lard in then bacon slab more lard then more slabs..till it was full. They would take the lard off the top down to a slab of bacon. Used the lard for cooking other things and then cooked the bacon.

I have canned venison chili in the past w/my pressure caner. It's simple, just follow the recommended pressure/time that comes w/the cooker. My DH gardens and we utilize the pressure cooker for the veggies as well. We spend very little in grocery stores.

Daven, you should see if your paechter would have a few jars of schmalz in is fridge. That stuff is like gold on toast in the morning.

Come to think of it, thats about the only canned meat or preserved meat that I ever saw in Germany while I was there. Jägers in BW didn't particularly have a lot of space in their kuhlschrank so they sold most of what they shot. Only kept the late season (like now) bucks or does for Christmas goulash if they couldn't get a Damhirsch for later in the year.

exactly...... Prolly cause a pressure cooker would take up too much space in these small kitchens...... I like a couple of the canned/jarred meat stuff here but in small doses... coldpacked meat is a completely different story..... I may just skip the idea and get a small freezer to use as needed...